Push Button Control for Powered Door
The client’s mobility means she is a wheelchair user or bed bound within her lounge/bedroom. Her property has a powered external door which she can operate with a push button to allow access to visitors. The client can no longer operate the small contact area of the button control and so enclosing the control within a secondary unit with a larger activation area now allows the client full control of the door.
The Challenge
Due to limited hand dexterity, the client is no longer able to operate the push button to open her powered external door to allow access to visitors. The door supplier had supplied different control buttons but none suited the client’s ability. An adaptation to a standard control was therefore required.
The originally supplied control appears to have a large activation area but it must be pressed on the 4 small dimples for the door to open. That area is only approximately 7mm square.
Door push button
The solution
The design was created in Fusion 360 and printed on a PRUSA MK4S with PETG material.
The lower component of the design holds the existing control unit while the top component is designed to be flexible with a protruding button to activate the specific area of the control unit. The two elements are fastened together with captivated nuts in the lower component and slotted screws, the slotted screws were used so they do not require any special tools when the top components has to be removed to change the battery in the control unit. The adaption is now providing a large area of activation for the client.
The benefit
The client is now able to open the door again for visitors. She can operate the unit with fingers or the palm of her hand and it has been fixed to the bedside table with double sided tape, so it does not move about and is always in the same location for her. A short safety chain was attached so, if it were to become detached, it does not fall to the floor.
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